Former AEW Champion Calls Regular Absences A "Mind F" (AEW News)
AEW's Scorpio Sky opens up about frustrations at lack of TV time.
Having wrestled extremely sporadically on AEW programming in recent years, Scorpio Sky has described his lengthy absences as a "mind F".
The former two-time TNT Champion and one-half of the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions, Sky was talking on the latest episode of the Tagging in with Chris Harris podcast, where he was asked about staying motivated during those times away from TV.
As Scorpio explained:
"It’s really like a mind F because, on the surface, it could be a lot worse. You’re sitting at home and getting paid, and there are people that don’t have a place to live, and there are people that are struggling and living paycheck to paycheck. They’re working 60 hours a week, and they’re barely able to make ends meet. So, when you think about it on that scale, it’s, like, ‘I can’t complain, man.’ But then there’s other days when you’re just, like, ‘Man, I grew up dreaming of doing this. I didn’t grow up dreaming of getting paid to not do it.’ It’s hard, and you wanna do it because you love it. And not only that, but from the business side, you've gotta earn your next contract. So, it does get frustrating, especially when it's out of your hands, when it's not due to injury. But that's the nature of the business, and I think a lot of wrestlers have gone through it, not just myself. There's a lot of talent in all the companies, and you're never going to get used as often as you'd like to be used, so you just have to roll with it and try to put yourself in the best situation that you can and be ready when your jersey number gets called."
When looking at the numbers, it's been a sparse few years for Scorpio Sky in terms of AEW matches.
The hugely talented 43-year-old has only wrestled four matches for AEW this year, the last of which was as part of the Blackjack Battle Royal on the Revolution pre-show in March. 2024 was five AEW matches for Sky, 2024 was 0 AEW matches, and 2023 was 3 matches. Even in Ring of Honor - where he's been teaming with Top Flight - Scorpio has only had four matches this year and four matches last year.
In terms of AEW's flagship Dynamite, it's crazy to realise that Scorpio Sky has only wrestled once on Dynamite in the four years since he lost the TNT Championship to Wardlow in July 2022; teaming with Top Flight in a loss to the Young Bucks and Josh Alexander last November.
You can certainly understand why Scorpio Sky might be frustrated at a lack of ringtime, though the California native is clearly appreciative of being paid, even if he can't wrestle as much as he'd like.
In terms of what's next for Scorpio Sky, recent rumblings indicate that his existing AEW deal is up in the coming months. When addressing that matter during this interview with Chris Harris - as in, 'Wildcat' Chris Harris, one half of the brilliant America's Most Wanted team in TNA back in the day - Sky admitted that he's thought about the future, but that he's trying not to think about that too much right now, and that he's "focused on finishing this chapter the right way", suggesting he may be weighing up his options outside of AEW.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Tagging in with Chris Harris with an H/T to WhatCulture Wrestling.